Belfast auction house preview rare items including H&W minute book and Nazi teapot

Copyright belongs to Clipstorm/The Belfast Telegraph

By Kirsten Elder

One of the most significant documents in Northern Ireland's history has come up for sale in a Belfast auction house.
An original Ulster Covenant - bearing the signatures of Edward Carson, James Craig, Admiral Charles Beresford and Lord Londonderry, as well as some of the best known political figures of the day - will go under the hammer next Tuesday.
Auctioneer Karl Bennett from Bloomfield Auctions said he has no idea why the document is not in a museum, adding that it's one of the most significant pieces of local history to pass through his auction house.
Bids of £200-£400 are expected, but he's hoping it will go for much more than the guide price.
advertisement
"It has been signed by John Johnston but has also been signed around the edges by the likes of Carson and James Craig and many other well known political figures," said Mr Bennett.
"To have those signatures all in one place like this is very rare; it's certainly one of the most important pieces of Northern Ireland history I've seen."
Other lots at the auction include rare Harland & Wolff records mentioning RMS Titanic and a teapot originally used in Hermann Goering's dining wagon of the Sonderzug (special train).
The old shipyard ‘Minute Book B', dated 1905-1918, and with an estimated value at auction of £400-£600, chronicles the day-to-day business of shipbuilding in Belfast.